Ambrose walked across the permanently downed bridge to his front door. It had been a drawbridge at one point, but maintaining it had turned into a hassle and a bother. So, he had torn out the pulley system and the various cogs and wheels and let the bridge fall flat and forever across the moat.
There were times that he missed being able to block himself in all nice and tight.
Today was not one of those times.
There were times when he worried about how welcoming the lowered bridge made his castle appear. It would surely attract the wrong crowd – annoying, stupid people who believed in ringing doorbells to sell cookbook subscriptions when decent people were trying to sleep.
Today was not one of those times either.
Today that lowered bridge was everything home to him. A smile. A friendly greeting. A welcoming embrace.
Ambrose crossed the bridge and stopped at the front door. “I’m home.” He stroked the front door’s etchings of quails and pheasants and geese in flight.
He wanted to revel in the fact that he was miles away from those who wanted to lock him up and put him on display.
He wanted to relish every second, every sight, every scent of being home again.
A wave of dizziness hit him hard, setting his head reeling.
He just wanted to go inside and sleep.
He pushed the doors open and wobbled down the long foyer. The thick red carpet snuffed out any sound of his light tread. Even though a very small part of him wanted to just drop down on the carpet and call it a day, the rest of him wanted to be in his real bed.
He weaved and toddered his way up the black and gold marble staircase all the way up to the second floor.
Past many doors to empty rooms.
To his room.
He opened his bedroom door. If he had a little more energy, he would have run to his bed.
But his energy just wasn’t at that point.
So, he approached the bed with a stagger and a stumble
Until…
At last.
Ambrose flopped into bed and closed his eyes. He didn’t even bother covering up or changing his clothes.
He stretched his arms high above his head. “Mmm. Home sweet home.”
He fell into a peaceful sleep and dreamed of Elsie battling Maria for his affections.
ambroseandelsie 
I really liked this line “Today that lowered bridge was everything home to him.” By the time he collapsed into bed, I was feeling tired too. I could crawl back in bed now, but I won’t because it’s still morning. But the scene was infectious. I was wondering about Maria recently, only because she seemed important to Ambrose in the beginning and then I don’t remember her being mentioned since. I don’t have a clear sense of their history yet or even her character, or why she was so important to him. I’m now wondering if she’ll come up again in the story. Interesting. I guess I’ll have to keep reading to find out. 🙂
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Thank you!
As the story goes on, you will get more information about Maria and her history with Ambrose. 😉 Even a couple of flashbacks.
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Excellent. I look forward to it.
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